US show of force
Source: Agencies |
July 22, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
The Obama administration moved yesterday to push new sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates showed solidarity with South Korea during a visit to the area that separates the two Koreas.
Clinton announced the new measures - targeting the sale or purchase of arms and related goods used to fund North Korea's nuclear activities, and the acquisition of luxury items to reward its elite - after she and Gates toured the heavily fortified border in a symbolic trip four months after the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed when the Cheonan exploded in the waters near the Koreas' western maritime border. An international team of investigators pinned the blast on a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine.
Clinton and Gates toured the demilitarized zone in the village of Panmunjom. Under sporadic downpours and the watchful gaze of North Korean guards, they paid tribute to the US, South Korean and international forces that patrol the world's last Cold War-era border.
In the Military Armistice Commission building where officials from North Korea and the UN Command meet for talks, Clinton and Gates stood briefly on North Korean soil while a North Korean solider peered at them through a window.
Gates said the visit was intended "to send a strong signal to North Korea, to the region and to the world that our commitment to South Korea's security is steadfast."
In response to the Cheonan sinking, the US and South Korea have announced to conduct new military exercises in the coming week, sparking threats from North Korea and expressions of concern from China.
North Korea has denied any role in the sinking of the Cheonan and has warned that any punishment would trigger war.
Gates announced on Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young that the US and South Korea would push ahead with four days of joint military exercises starting Sunday. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived in the southern port of Busan yesterday to take part in the exercises.
Clinton said North Korea could win "the security and international respect it seeks" by stopping its provocative behavior, halting threats toward its neighbors and returning to denuclearization talks.
Clinton announced the new measures - targeting the sale or purchase of arms and related goods used to fund North Korea's nuclear activities, and the acquisition of luxury items to reward its elite - after she and Gates toured the heavily fortified border in a symbolic trip four months after the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed when the Cheonan exploded in the waters near the Koreas' western maritime border. An international team of investigators pinned the blast on a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine.
Clinton and Gates toured the demilitarized zone in the village of Panmunjom. Under sporadic downpours and the watchful gaze of North Korean guards, they paid tribute to the US, South Korean and international forces that patrol the world's last Cold War-era border.
In the Military Armistice Commission building where officials from North Korea and the UN Command meet for talks, Clinton and Gates stood briefly on North Korean soil while a North Korean solider peered at them through a window.
Gates said the visit was intended "to send a strong signal to North Korea, to the region and to the world that our commitment to South Korea's security is steadfast."
In response to the Cheonan sinking, the US and South Korea have announced to conduct new military exercises in the coming week, sparking threats from North Korea and expressions of concern from China.
North Korea has denied any role in the sinking of the Cheonan and has warned that any punishment would trigger war.
Gates announced on Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young that the US and South Korea would push ahead with four days of joint military exercises starting Sunday. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier arrived in the southern port of Busan yesterday to take part in the exercises.
Clinton said North Korea could win "the security and international respect it seeks" by stopping its provocative behavior, halting threats toward its neighbors and returning to denuclearization talks.
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